Long Way Down
by Running Up Fawn
Summary: The call for help came too late. (Without a TraceJeffrey Deaver crossover. WIP)
1. Default Chapter

Title: Long Way Down

Author: Lauren / Running Up Fawn

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Jack, Samantha and Van Doran belong to CBS, Steinberg and Bruckheimer. Rhyme, Sachs and Sellito belong to Jeffrey Deaver. The title belongs to Guster. As always, I own nothing.

Author's Note: This is a Jeffrey Deaver/Without a Trace crossover. Because I'm simply not good enough to juggle seven characters, Vivian and Danny probably won't be in this one. Or maybe they will. Set pre-pilot (Without a Trace), and sometime between _The Empty Chair and _The Stone Monkey_ (Jeffrey Deaver)._

So much love and thanks to D, for your encouragement, to Blaze for the excellent suggestions, and to Maple Street in general for being so freaking awesome.

_October 3rd._

_11:06 PM_.__

_Of all the nights to run, she had to pick this one._

_Frustration and anger still clouded her mind as she slowed to a walk, throwing the headphones away from her ears and casting an uncertain look around the still, darkened campus._

_To her left, a slight rustling sent her heart racing wildly, and blood now pounded in her ears as loudly as music had only a few moments earlier._

_Ten feet away, the emergency call box gleamed silver in the moonlight; it was a beacon, a safe haven, and she covered the distance quickly, pressing on the large red button with more force than intended._

_A voice crackled through the system, and Kerry breathed a deep sigh of relief before confirming her location._

_Wrapping her arms around her body, guarding against the chill that crept through her thin, sweat-soaked T-shirt, she leaned back against the sturdy metal box, and waited._

"Pretty campus," Samantha Spade commented, glancing briefly at her surroundings before returning her gaze to the path in front of her.

"Yeah. Nice trees," was Jack Malone's gruff contribution to the conversation as the two approached their destination: a broad circle of yellow crime scene tape, surrounded by what looked to be Wellington College's entire student body.

Earlier that morning, Paula Van Doran had summoned the two agents into her office and asked them to join the NYPD in the search for Kerry Glenn, an eighteen year-old freshman at Wellington. Kerry's father, Van Doran explained, was Patrick Glenn, a high-profile defense attorney whose popularity with the media was steadily increasing.

Agent Fred Dellray, who often worked alongside the NYPD, had requested two agents from the unit to join the investigation. "Join", not "take over", had been stressed in order to ease the territorial tension that was almost inevitable when the two parties worked together.

Forty-five minutes after Van Doran's brisk assignment found Samantha and Jack standing at the edge of the crime scene with only a vague knowledge of the case, watching a tall woman with striking red hair and a forensics jumpsuit as she processed the area.

"She's working alone?"

Samantha was surprised. The scene was rather large, and the woman was walking very slowly, very methodically, from one end to the other.

"She's not alone." Following Jack's gaze, Samantha's eyes rested on a handsome, dark-skinned man sitting upright just outside the tape in a very red, very advanced form of a wheelchair. He wore a headset, and Samantha realized that the woman did as well.

As they walked toward the man, Jack spoke to Samantha in a low voice.

"That's Lincoln Rhyme. He was the best forensic scientist in New York, possibly the world, until a beam fell and crushed a vertebra at a scene he was working. He's paralyzed, but he still works some cases with the NYPD. Mostly through her." A nod to the red-haired woman. "Amelia Sachs."

Samantha watched Lincoln Rhyme curiously as they approached. By his mouth there was something that looked like a straw, and under his left ring finger a small gray button.

They stopped just to the side of his chair, waiting while he instructed Amelia Sachs.

"Come on, Sachs. She's standing by the emergency call box. It's dark. She's cold and scared. What's he _doing? What are you doing?"_

Lincoln Rhyme's tone was low, seductive and insistent, and Samantha watched in rapt fascination as the woman closed her eyes, turning slightly behind a line of trees and dropping into a crouch.

"I can see her from here, Rhyme. I'm close. I can hear her." Amelia Sachs' voice crackled through Rhyme's headset.

"Where do you want her?"

"Here." Sachs' reply was instant. "I want the trees for cover." 

"Good. You're waiting..nervous, perhaps?"

"No. I'm ready...Rhyme! I've got a footprint."

"Could be nothing," Rhyme muttered, but there was no mistaking the note of pride and excitement in his voice. "Snap and cast it."

"The ground is softer back here, closer to the trees," Sachs explained as she worked. "There's only one print."

Amelia was silent for a moment, and, using the straw-like controller on his wheelchair with more grace than Samantha thought possible, Rhyme turned to face the agents, his face relaxing into one of recognition.

"Agent Malone," a familiar nod from Rhyme.

"Hey, Lincoln. Been awhile." Jack's voice was warm as he placed a gentle hand on Samantha's arm. "This is Agent Samantha Spade."

"Nice to meet you, Agent Spade." He was cordial if not exactly friendly, and Samantha offered a smile in return.

At that moment, the red-haired woman ducked under the crime scene tape and took her place next to Lincoln Rhyme.

"Scene's been exposed to the elements for too long," Amelia Sachs grumbled, before slightly brightening and holding up her crime scene briefcase.

"Got the footprint and a CD player, though. It was a little further back."

"_A little further_?" Rhyme's voice dripped with disdain.

"Twenty feet from the emergency call box, six feet beyond the footprint."

Samantha found herself stifling a grin at the other woman's exasperated tone.

"That's better. Did you photograph everything?"

This time Amelia Sachs didn't dignify Rhyme's persistent question with an answer; she merely rolled her eyes and turned her gaze to Jack and Samantha.

"I'm Samantha Spade, and this is Jack Malone." Somehow, Samantha didn't think adding "agent" in front of their names would make any kind of impression on this assured woman.

"From the FBI," Rhyme added helpfully, a touch of amusement in his voice.

"Amelia Sachs," she responded, shaking hands briefly with Jack and Samantha.

"No prints on the call box?" Rhyme turned his attention back to the scene.

"None."

"Not even on the call button?" His eyes had taken on an almost gleeful sparkle.

A real grin from Amelia Sachs. "Nope. Clean."

"There's his first mistake," Rhyme explained to the agents. "Wiping off the button, where there_ should be prints. He's not as smart as he thinks he is."_

"Mr. Rhyme, would you mind filling us in?" Samantha hated admitting ignorance, but Van Doran had given them only the case's bare minimum before sending them off.

In response, Lincoln called to a tall, rumpled looking man who was speaking to one of the students. After a moment, he made his way over to where the other four waited.

"Lon, this is Agent Jack Malone and Agent Samantha Spade of the FBI."

The man extended his hand. "Detective Lon Sellito."

"The agents need to be briefed, Lon. Sachs and I are going to start canvassing the campus's entrances and exits."

"See you, Lincoln."

Jack and Samantha smiled their goodbyes as the pair headed down the concrete path.

"Okay." Lon Sellito's voice was all business. "Kerry Glenn, eighteen years old. Went for a run last night at about 10:40, according to the roommate. Around five after eleven, she's on the other side of campus, and she presses the emergency call button. Guy she talked to," Sellito pointed to a thin, wiry looking man dressed in uniform and talking to another officer, "said she sounded pretty shaken up. Says he sent the closest security guard to walk her back to her dorm. Guard gets to the box, she's not there. No sign of anyone else around. We didn't get the call until about six in the morning. Guess they thought she'd turn up."

"Where's the guard?" Jack asked instantly, and followed Sellito's gaze to a tall, well built man also on the crime scene perimeter.

"That's about it. I just got the basics from everyone," Sellito explained. "Left the real interrogating for you." With a brief wave, Sellito disappeared.

For a moment, neither Samantha nor Jack spoke. Then their eyes met, and the corners of Samantha's mouth lifted.

"Guess we better get started."

"Back to the beginning, I think." Jack squinted against the sun before turning his gaze to Samantha.

"The roommate?" She hazarded, and Jack responded with a nod.

Placing his hand lightly on her back, he led her gently down the path as she wondered briefly what they had gotten into.

TBC...


	2. Chapter Two

Long Way Down, continued from chapter one.

Author's Note: To Maple Street, for everything. Thank you for making this the one of the best summers I've ever had. I :wub: all of you.

By the fifth flight of stairs, Samantha was out of breath and not happy about it.   
"How is it that a college with a forty thousand dollar tuition can't afford working elevators?"

Jack gave her a sideways glance, trying to conceal an amused smirk and not quite succeeding.   
"Forty thousand?" He pondered aloud as they turned to the final flight of stairs.

"I'm ball parking," she muttered. "Private, all-girls school..what do you think?"

He gave a thoughtful shrug, holding the door to the sixth floor hallway open and allowing her to pass through.

"After you, Spade."

This time his mouth lifted in a full grin, which only grew wider as she turned and affixed him with a glare.

" 'Spade'? Oh no. Last names aren't going to work, Jack," Samantha warned as they started down the narrow hallway.

"Why not? It's kind of cute," he teased gently, slowing to a stop in front of a wooden door marked 617.

"For them, yeah, it's adorable. For us?" She shook her head, unable to keep the slightly exasperated smile from crossing her face as she knocked on the door.

After a moment, it opened, revealing a tall, pale blonde young woman who didn't look surprised to see them standing in her doorway.

"Erin Spencer?"

The girl nodded in the affirmative, and Samantha continued.

  
"I'm Samantha Spade, and this is Jack Malone. We're from the FBI, and we need to ask you a few questions about Kerry."

Wordlessly, Erin pushed the door open wider, retreating back into the dorm. Samantha and Jack followed, stepping into what appeared to be a typical college dorm room; relatively small, unwelcoming, and cluttered. Two beds sat on opposite ends of the room, and a single window allowed a stream of brilliant sunlight inside.

Erin perched on the edge of one of the beds, silently observing, until Jack took a seat across from her, leaning forward and flipping open a notebook.

"What can you tell us about last night?"

"We were both back here by around ten." Erin's tone suggested she had been through this before."I was doing research for a paper, and Kerry was reading, or something. Her phone rang a little while later, and she was on for about fifteen minutes. She sounded pretty pissed off when she hung up, but she didn't really tell me anything, only that it had been her parents on the phone." A shrug from Erin. "They always have pretty explosive conversations, from what I've heard. Anyway, that's when she decided to go for a run. Said she needed to clear her head. She did that once or twice a week, and it was always pretty late. After ten-thirty, at least."

As Erin spoke, Samantha had been looking around the room, unsure of what, exactly, she was searching for. A photograph thrown haphazardly on what Samantha assumed was Kerry's desk caught her eye. The woman in it had long, honey-blonde hair and a soft, youthful face, but it was her eyes that demanded Samantha's attention. 

Deep sea green, they held a world of pain and knowledge not quite masked by the surprised smile on her otherwise innocent face, and Samantha wondered what kind of horror had caused the devastation so evident in the photograph.

"Do you remember what the conversation was about?" Jack was asking Erin Spencer, and Samantha listened intently to the answer.

Erin bit her lip thoughtfully.

"Something about classes, this time. Kerry's majoring in English and minoring in education, but she loves art." Erin pointed to a sketchbook thrown on the opposite bed. "She's good, too. Anyway, I think she wanted to take some art class off campus. From her end, it sounded like they were really against it; refusing to pay and everything." A slight eye roll from the blonde. "Not like they can't afford it. Kerry said she'd pay, though. She's got a job at some restaurant.." Erin trailed off, a look of consideration etched across her features. "It was weird, though..like this was the first they heard she was working. Kerry got all defensive after she told them, too." She shrugged. "Control freaks, I think."

"What's the name of the restaurant Kerry works at?"

"Marabella's," Erin responded.

  
"Erin, did you call Kerry in missing?" Samantha spoke for the first time since they had entered the room.

The other girl nodded. "I fell asleep around eleven last night. Her alarm woke me up at six, and I realized she hadn't come back."

"Can you describe what Kerry was wearing?"

Erin's forehead wrinkled in concentration.

"White t-shirt, green shorts and sneakers. Oh, and she had a silver CD player. Never runs without it." Her voice was suddenly thick with unshed tears.  
"I don't know Kerry that well yet. It might help to talk to the people she works with. She spends a lot of time there."

Jack nodded before continuing. "Do you know if Kerry was dating anyone? Any boyfriend or ex-boyfriend that you know of?"

"I don't think so. School and work took up most of her time, and she never mentioned anything," Erin replied.

Samantha made her way over to Erin, holding the photograph out for the other girl to see, and asked the question even though she already knew the answer.

"Is this Kerry?"

A nod from Erin, and Samantha touched her shoulder lightly.

"Thank you."

Another mute nod from Erin Spencer, who then led the agents to the door.

After they had retreated into the hallway, Samantha handed the photo to Jack. He studied it for a long moment before giving it back to her.

"Nice-looking kid," he commented as they began their descent.

"She's in pain," Samantha responded quietly, glancing at the picture again.

Jack looked first to the picture, and then his eyes met Samantha's with a resigned acceptance.

"She is," he agreed.  
  
  
Sometimes it was hard for him. Hard to wait at the edge while she searched and uncovered and delved into the scene that was right there, but would always be just out of his reach.

Sometimes it was hard, but allowing Amelia Sachs to be his legs and arms and eyes had given him back a piece of his life he'd thought gone forever.

Lincoln Rhyme now watched intently from his chair as she studied the exit closest to the emergency call box. It wasn't much of an exit; a gravel path like the one that stretched around the entire campus, just wide enough for a single car and bordered by a thin trees on both sides. At the end sat a metal gate that opened to a back road.

Sachs was making her way slowly down the path toward the gate, carefully examining both the ground and the trees surrounding her, making sure to look up at the higher branches as well.

'Good, Sachs.' The concept of three-dimensional crime scenes was one that Rhyme had drilled into Amelia Sachs from the day they met.

She stopped, and her voice suddenly sounded through his headset.

"Rhyme, if she was taken this way..the perp probably wasn't walking down the middle of the path." Her tone was colored with self-disgust. "He would have stayed out of sight, probably not on the path at all."

She was right, Rhyme realized. "That's it, Sachs. Get inside of him."

He was her anchor, keeping her steady and allowing her to slip just far enough into the criminal's persona that she could see the scene through the perpetrator's eyes.

It was both a gift and a nightmare, and he stayed with her as she reluctantly crossed to that dark, cold side of her mind.

Amelia Sachs had reached the end of the path and moved just out of Rhyme's view, into the line of trees to the left of the metal gate.

"It's dark even now," she was whispering into her own headset. "I can see the call box from here, and the path..I'd know if anyone was approaching. I can follow these trees until I'm practically right next to her."

Sachs was moving slowly forward, branches grazing her hair and face as she examined the area surrounding her.

"How're you feeling?" Rhyme was pushing hard and he knew it, but he needed her to dig deeper.

"I'm..confident. I can see her but she can't see me. I'm close, I'm ready."

"Okay." Rhyme deliberately kept his voice low, soothing, allowing Sachs to leave herself behind and dissolve into the elusive mind of a criminal they knew next to nothing about.  
Sachs stopped just before she reached the edge of the trees, which opened onto the short path leading to the silver call box.

"I'm going back, Rhyme," she spoke into the headset. "This looks like it would be the quickest way to get off campus without being seen."

"Go ahead. Remember, you've got her with you now."

With a slight nod, Amelia turned and started toward the metal gate again, occasionally turning to look over her shoulder.

"She's probably fighting," Sachs continued, speaking both to herself and Lincoln. "I'm nervous now. She's fighting and I could get caught..Oh shit, Rhyme."

"What is it?" Rhyme's voice was taut.

"Looks like a piece of cloth. It's stuck on a sharp tree branch. It's weird."

"_Weird_? What's _weird_, Sachs? The color? The texture? Weird doesn't tell me anything." Impatience made Rhyme caustic.

"It looks almost like silk. Navy blue, I think. Kind of twisted on the branch, like whoever was wearing it turned sharply and it got caught." Amelia Sachs had learned to ignore Rhyme's sarcastic badgering.

"Photograph and bag it. Don't move the cloth; break the branch off a few inches down. There could be trace trapped in the cloth."

He could visualize her face, etched in concentration, as she carefully snapped the branch from the tree and deposited it in the bag.

"Got something else, Rhyme. A yellow hair tie on the ground."

Ignoring the screaming protest from her arthritic knees, Amelia bent to the grass and, using a pair of slender tweezers, picked up the thin hair band.

After searching the area a few minutes longer, a slightly dissatisfied Amelia Sachs pronounced herself, for the moment, finished.

"Okay, Sachs. We've got to collect samples of dirt from the exits and the main scene, then head back and process the evidence." 

"Right." Sachs ducked under a low-hanging branch and made her way over to his chair. "I've got them from this exit."

"We'll need a map of the school, as well."

"Taken care of." She grinned down at him as he raised an eyebrow in mock surprise.

"Good thinking."

"Good teacher," she responded, and Rhyme didn't miss the tone of affection in her voice.

Her hand fell absently to his shoulder as they continued to make their way around the campus, long slender fingers tracing an idle, familiar pattern on one of the few places he could still feel. 

In so many ways, Amelia Sachs had given Lincoln Rhyme back the life he'd almost lost.

In so many ways, he'd done the same for her.

TBC…


	3. Chapter Three

Long Way Down, continued from chapter two.

Author's Note: So much thanks to everyone for the positive feedback, and to Maple Street, for being so wonderful. I :wub: you all.

According to Nathan Miller, the emergency call button was pushed at exactly 11:06 PM.

Samantha and Jack stood inside Wellington's College's main security office, listening to the slender young man explain the emergency call system.

"There are five call boxes stationed around campus," he said, leading the two agents through a single wooden door that led from the main office into a much smaller room filled with speakers, various buttons, a computer and two television screens.

"The system is simple," Nathan assured, gesturing to a set of five red lights, each labeled with the name of a building.

"Each call box is named for the hall it's closest to," the guard continued. "Murphy Hall, Birmingham Hall, and so on. When a student presses one of the call buttons, a buzzer sounds and the light in this room corresponding with the button pushed begins to blink. This button," he continued, pointing to a small black circle under each red light, "allows whoever is responding to the call to speak to the student, and vice-versa."

"Can you tell us exactly what happened last night, Mr. Miller?" Jack looked expectantly at the younger man, who nodded.

"Sure. I was working the earlier shift. That's six PM to twelve AM," he clarified. "Normally, there are six security officers on campus, including a monitoring guard. I was monitoring yesterday, but we were short-handed. Only five guards, including myself. It was a quiet night, and there was a problem with one of the building's alarm systems, so a few guys were working on that. Anyway, at 11:06, the Connelly Hall light began to blink." Nathan pointed to one of the red lights. "I asked the student for her name and confirmation of location. Kerry Glenn, Connelly Hall." The officer shrugged. "Told her I would send the closest guard to walk her to her dorm. Unfortunately, since we were short-staffed, the closest guard was at least ten minutes away."

"What's the officer's name?" Samantha asked, shivering slightly. The small office was suddenly freezing.

"Steven Keith," Nathan Miller answered. "He's around here somewhere."

Jack nodded. "Good. We'll need to speak with him. Mr. Miller, what did Kerry seem like when she called emergency last night?"

The other man looked thoughtful. "A little freaked out, but not too bad. Just nervous, I guess."

"Do you know why?" Samantha interjected.

Nathan Miller's response was another shrug. "No idea. It's strange, because I've seen her out late before, and she was always fine. Seemed to really like running at night."

Samantha and Jack exchanged quick glances.

"You know Kerry Glenn?" Jack asked carefully.

"Oh, not well," Nathan clarified. "We talked a few times, when I was out patrolling and she was heading back from a run. That's why I was surprised to hear her on the call box; she always seemed very in control. When Steven reported that she was gone, I figured she'd just gotten tired of waiting and headed back on her own."

"Has anything like this ever happened before?" Samantha asked, peering over a set of buttons and knobs before returning her steady gaze to Nathan Miller, who shook his head slowly.

"Not that I know of," he replied. "I've only worked here for a few years and as far as I know, the emergency call system is relatively new. There have never been any real problems at Wellington," he finished.

"Thank you, Mr. Miller," Jack stood, and Samantha joined him. "We'll need to speak with Steven Keith immediately."

A nod from Nathan, who pressed another black button. "This connects me to all the guards on duty," he explained, before verifying Steven Keith's location and directing the agents on their way.

Samantha stepped into the mild October sun with a sigh of relief, and Jack fell into step beside her, his shoulder against hers providing an additional source of warmth and comfort. They passed Connelly Hall, and Samantha stopped a few steps after the wide brown building, eyes fixed on the gleaming silver box, still surrounded by bright yellow crime scene tape.

"It was supposed to keep her safe," Samantha spoke quietly, unable to keep herself from envisioning the terrified young woman, seeking help from a metal box and a red button.

A light touch on her shoulder let Samantha know that Jack had heard her, that he knew. That they were doing everything they could.

"C'mon," he whispered gently, guiding her down the concrete path. By the time the agents reached Steven Keith, Samantha had pushed her feelings aside, her strength only bolstered by Jack's presence at her side.

"Steven Keith?" She smoothly took charge, approaching the tall, sandy-haired man. "I'm Agent Spade, and this is Agent Malone of the FBI. We need to ask you a few questions about last night."

"I already told NYPD everything I know," the man interjected, eyes full of resentment.

"That's nice," Samantha commented mildly before continuing. "Where were you when Nathan Miller contacted you?"

"At the southern end of campus," Steven Keith replied. "Near Rider Hall." He raised an arm, pointing beyond Jack and Samantha. "Down that way."

"And when Nathan Miller told you that you were needed at the Connelly Hall box, did you leave right away?"

Steven Keith glared at the agents. "Of course I did."

"How long did it take you to get there?" Samantha continued her questioning, unbothered by the officer's obvious discontent.

"Ten minutes? Maybe a little longer," he answered.

"And when you got there..." Jack trailed off, an eyebrow raised in question.

"When I got there, no one was around. I looked around the area for about five minutes before I called Nathan back and let him know." Steven seemed to have calmed slightly.

"Did you see anything out of the ordinary at all?" 

"Nothing." The guard offered no further explanation, and the word was like a final, closing door. They would learn no more from Steven Keith.

"Can we hold him?" Samantha murmured to Jack as they left the guard behind.

Jack shook his head slightly. "We don't have enough," he responded reluctantly. "We'll need to get a list of all the guards on duty last night, run a background check."

They fell into a comfortable silence, and as the agents reached the opposite end of campus, Samantha glanced at her watch, raising an eyebrow.

"It took us fifteen minutes to walk from one end of the school to the other." Her voice held a note of surprise.

"Wide campus," Jack mused as they approached the government issued vehicle and slid inside. A few moments later, Samantha spoke again.

"Jack? This isn't the way to the unit."

"We're not going to the unit," was Jack's vague response, as he met her eyes briefly.

"Really." Samantha relaxed back against the seat, staring ahead before turning to regard him softly. "Where are we going?"

"Have to check in with Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs," Jack reminded her.

"The NYPD office?" She guessed, and Jack smiled.

"Not quite. Rhyme works out of his house."

"Oh. I bet that's some house," Samantha mused, throwing Jack a grin. "You've worked with him before?"

"Yeah, awhile ago. You should have seen him work a scene, Sam. It was like there were things only he could see. Things only he knew how to find. It was some kind of magic. I haven't seen him since the accident." Jack's voice sobered before a smile crept back into his tone. "He's got that same intensity now, though. Amelia Sachs has been a blessing."

"They seem like a perfect team," Samantha agreed, recalling the smoldering connection between the fiery red-head and the insistent criminalist.

"They are," Jack assured her. A beat, then a smile. "I'd say we make a damn good team, too."

We. Team. The words affected Samantha on a level much deeper than she was sure Jack meant, and so she responded with only a smile that mirrored his own.

Samantha wasn't sure what to expect when she and Jack approached the front door of Lincoln Rhyme's townhouse. A slim, blonde man answered the bell, and ushered them inside after they presented their badges.

"I'm Thom," he introduced himself with a smile, leading them down a hallway and into a large room stocked with more forensic tools than Samantha had ever seen. Computers and microscopes filled every corner, and a large worktable was spread with jars, gloves, examining trays, and dozens of other items she couldn't identify.

Amelia Sachs was bent over Lincoln Rhyme's shoulder as he peered into a sleek black microscope. The man looked up suddenly, dark eyes fixated on the blonde man.

"Thom, we need that chalkboard in here, now." The demand from the intimidating criminalist was met with only a raised eyebrow, and Lincoln Rhyme sighed. "Please."

As Thom left the room, Lincoln turned to Jack and Samantha and offered what Samantha assumed was a welcoming smile, before returning his gaze to the microscope. It was Amelia Sachs who spoke.

"What'd you find out?" She seemed genuinely interested.

"According to the roommate, Kerry left to run sometime after 10:30, after a fight with her parents on the phone. Said that wasn't unusual, she does it once or twice a week. The roommate, Erin Spencer, called Kerry in missing when she woke up and saw that she hadn't come back."

Sachs nodded, and Samantha continued.

"We talked to the guard who responded to her emergency call, Nathan Miller. The button was pressed at exactly 11:06, and he sent the closest security officer to walk Kerry back to her dorm. When the officer, Steven Keith, reached the box, Kerry was gone."

"Nathan Miller confirmed Kerry's penchant for running at night," Jack picked up as Samantha left off. "He said he's spoken to her a few times, and she never had any problems before."

At that moment, Thom returned to the room, dragging a large green chalkboard across the floor. Lincoln Rhyme looked up again.

"Ah, thank you, Thom." Rhyme's voice dripped with sarcastic graciousness. "Ready to write?"

Rolling his eyes, the aide nodded, and Lincoln began to dictate the items found at the emergency call scene. 

"We'll be able to perform a more-detailed analysis of the dirt samples when Mel gets here," Lincoln spoke to the room in general.

"Who's Mel?" Samantha questioned.

"Mel Cooper. Works in the forensic lab at NYPD," Amelia Sachs clarified. "He's really good."

"Lincoln, do you have another one of those boards? Samantha and I need to lay out a timeline," Jack explained. An aggrieved sigh from Lincoln Rhyme, who nodded.

"I'll get it," offered Thom, leaving the room once again.

"Ignore him," Amelia nodded to Rhyme, who arched a challenging eyebrow at the red haired woman. "He's just testy because he can't figure out what that piece of cloth is."

"Haven't figured it out _yet_, Sachs," Rhyme corrected irritably. 

"What piece of cloth?" Samantha's interest was peaked, and she made her way around various pieces of equipment, standing at Lincoln Rhyme's side.

The cloth and branch were laid out on a white examining tray. Thin and navy blue, the cloth was slightly frayed at the edges and only about three inches in diameter. 

After Rhyme assured it was okay, Samantha picked the cloth up, rubbing it between her fingers before letting out a surprised laugh.

"It's Under Armor," she said, a grin still quirked at the corner of her lips.

"It's what?" Rhyme and Sachs spoke simultaneously, and Jack's face was questioning.

"Under Armor. It's a type of shirt worn mostly for sports. It's light, but tough, and usually really tight. It's for warmth," she explained.

"How do you know?" Lincoln Rhyme's voice was interested but a bit skeptical, and Samantha shrugged.

"I used to wear it all the time for softball night games."

"Ah." The answer seemed to satisfy the scientist. "Would we be able to trace it to a particular store or provider?"

Samantha shook her head apologetically. "Probably not, sorry. Under Armor is sold at pretty much every sporting goods store, and besides, this particular shirt is old."

"Why do you say that?" This time, it was Amelia Sachs who directed a question at Samantha.

"It's thinner than usual, which means it's probably been worn a lot. Wouldn't have ripped otherwise; this stuff is really durable. Plus, it's kind of faded, stretched." Samantha peered closer at the cloth sample. "This is probably from the upper back, by the way."

Before Rhyme or Sachs could form a question, Samantha explained. "That's where the shirt is pulled the thinnest. Easiest place to tear."

Rhyme was nodding vigorously, and he graced Samantha with a grudging thank you, before asking Thom to write "Under Armor" under the crime scene list.

Samantha's eyes met Jack's, and she flushed slightly at the quiet pride she saw in his face. Their gazes held for a moment, and then Amelia Sachs spoke. 

"Do we know if Kerry was wearing the Under Armor?"

Jack shook his head. "Roommate told us Kerry was wearing a white t-shirt and green shorts," he explained to Amelia and Lincoln.

Nodding, the red-haired woman picked up a small envelope and opened it, reaching inside with a pair of tweezers and retrieving a thin yellow hair tie.

"Found this at the scene as well," Sachs explained to the agents as she carefully placed it on another white examining board. "It was only a few feet away from the tree the Under Armor caught on."

"Look at the envelope first, Sachs," Lincoln requested, and the woman did.

"The hair tie was wet," Amelia informed the others, setting envelope down next to the hair band. "Left a water stain on the envelope."

"What does that mean?" Samantha asked. 

"Means the hair tie was outside all night," Lincoln Rhyme answered, his tone much more genial than it had been earlier. "It didn't rain at all yesterday or this morning, so we know it was soaked with dew."

"Yeah, but Wellington's an all-girls school," Jack pointed out. "That could belong to anyone."

Amelia Sachs grinned broadly, separating a single golden blonde hair from the yellow hair tie with her tweezers and lifting it triumphantly. "Maybe, but now we can determine if it's Kerry's or not."

"Excellent, Sachs," Rhyme nodded firmly as Jack pulled out his cell phone, requesting a uniform to retrieve Kerry Glenn's hairbrush from her dorm room.

"Sam, we need to visit Kerry Glenn's parents," Jack said, and Samantha nodded. "Van Doran says it's about a two hour drive from here."

Rhyme and Sachs exchanged glances.

"Two hours? My Sachs'll get you there in..what? Forty-five minutes?" Rhyme directed a questioning gaze at the tall woman, who gave a slight smile.

"Something like that." 

"Great." Lincoln's voice was brisk. "Thom, I need you to change these samples.." Rhyme's attention was completely focused on the microscope in front of him, save for the quick, warm smile he bestowed on Amelia Sachs, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed.

"Ready?" Jack tossed Amelia the keys, and she caught them one-handed, moving toward the door. The agents followed the red-haired woman out the door of Lincoln Rhyme's townhouse, leaving the quirky, brilliant man to the world he still lived for.

TBC..


	4. Chapter Four

Long Way Down, chapter four. Continued from chapter three.

Author's Note: Maple Street…you are amazing. I can't thank everyone enough for the incredibly kind feedback..you guys keep me going. Thanks also to my mom, who knows nothing about fanfic but still managed to help with this chapter immensely. 

"Lincoln!"

Mel Cooper's voice sounded through the hallway, and as he entered the large room both Rhyme and Thom offered the slender, dark-haired technician genuine smiles.

"What are we working on today, Linc?"

Mel's gentle enthusiasm was palpable and catching.

"Girl went missing from Wellington College last night," Rhyme replied. "We've got dirt samples from each of the entrances and exits, as well as from the primary scene; an emergency call box. Thom here was kind enough to put up a map of the school, and label the entrances and exits. Primary scene's circled in red," Lincoln finished. Each sample was laid out across the worktable.

"I 'scoped the samples," Rhyme continued. "The dirt from the primary scene contains traces of gray dust. Looks like some kind of gravel or cement but I can't be sure. It's present in the samples from exit E-6, which is the closest exit to the call box, and exit E-3. That one's toward the southern end of campus."

Mel nodded, absorbing Rhyme's information.

"Then there's a footprint Amelia found about fourteen feet from the call box," the criminalist said. "I found traces of the same dust in the print sample."

"Size?" Mel asked as he loaded the chromatograph with dirt samples.

"Eleven," Thom answered. Working for Lincoln Rhyme meant the aide had learned his way around forensic equipment and picked up basic procedure.

After Mel finished loading the samples, Rhyme directed him to the silver CD player Sachs had discovered. Mel carefully examined the device, but found nothing other than a large thumbprint.

"Run it through AFIS," Lincoln instructed. "It's probably the girl's, but-"

"We have to be thorough. I know." A slight, teasing smile from Mel Cooper.

"Good." Lincoln Rhyme's voice was gruff, brisk, but tempered with a note of affection for the lab technician.

_Scene's been exposed to the elements for too long._

As Rhyme looked around the worktable, he couldn't suppress the feeling of dismay that rose inside of him. Amelia Sachs was right. In the hours it had taken for Kerry Glenn to be reported missing, crucial evidence could have been blown away, removed or destroyed.

Science was patience, but there wasn't much Lincoln Rhyme hated more than waiting. And there wasn't much to do except wait.

"This it?" Amelia Sachs asked, sliding the dark vehicle to a stop in front of a large, red brick home. She turned to Samantha for confirmation, and the blonde agent glanced at a slip of paper before nodding mutely. 

The shadow of an amused smile played at the corners of Amelia's lips as Jack and Samantha exchanged glances, and Samantha checked her watch.

"Less than an hour," she managed to comment as they left the vehicle behind. "Not bad."

"Would have been faster but I didn't know about the detour," Sachs responded mildly, following the agents up the walk to the Glenn's front door.

Jack rang the bell, and the wooden door was pulled open by a painfully thin, middle-aged woman with short, dark blonde hair and bloodshot green eyes. She was wrapped in an oversized purple sweatshirt, and her face registered quiet acknowledgement as she took in the three strangers standing on her porch.

"Mrs. Glenn? I'm Special Agent Malone. This is Special Agent Spade, and Officer Sachs."

"Please, come in. My husband is in the living room."

The three were led down a dark hallway into a large, expansively furnished room. Sitting stiffly on the edge of a brown leather chair was a slim, distinguished-looking man with close-cropped silver hair and deep-set dark eyes. He rose as the agents and Amelia entered the room.

"Patrick Glenn?"

The man nodded in response to Jack's query and, after introductions were made, Jack and Samantha settled on the sofa across from Patrick Glenn. Sachs took another seat, her quick blue eyes taking in their surroundings, mentally filing away anything she thought would be useful. Megan Glenn, Kerry's mother, stood uncertainly at the threshold of the room.

"Do you have any news?" Patrick Glenn's voice was sharp, demanding.

"Not yet, Mr. Glenn. We have a few questions for you and your wife."

The other man settled back, and his gaze was almost challenging in nature.

"According to Erin Spencer, Kerry's roommate, Kerry had a fight with you the night she disappeared. Could you tell us what that was about?" Jack pinned Patrick Glenn with a steady gaze of his own.

"I'm not sure how that's relevant," he responded acerbically.

"It will help us establish Kerry's mental state at the time of her disappearance," Samantha snapped. "Anything you tell us about your daughter is relevant."

"Kerry wanted to take an art class off campus. We felt it was best for her to concentrate solely on schoolwork, especially during her first year," was Patrick's reply.

"Anything else?" Jack pressed.

"Well--" Megan Glenn began to speak, but was cut off with an icy stare from her husband.

"No. It wasn't even a long conversation," Patrick finished.

"Erin Spencer told us Kerry was pretty angry afterward," Samantha recalled. "She also said Kerry told you she'd started working at a restaurant."

"We weren't happy about that, either," Patrick Glenn said. "It's important that Kerry does well in college."

Samantha looked first at Megan Glenn, then to Amelia Sachs, who was compulsively digging an index finger into the waves of her red hair, an unreadable expression on her face. Samantha then turned to Jack, meeting his eyes for the briefest of instants.

"Mrs. Glenn," Samantha began carefully. "Would you mind showing me Kerry's room?"

The older woman looked hesitant, especially when her husband gave an exasperated sigh. She nodded, though, and Samantha stood, motioning for Amelia to follow.

_Trust the evidence, Sachs, not witnesses._

Try as he might, even stubborn Lincoln Rhyme could never fully eradicate the side of Amelia Sachs that would always be a people cop. Studying emotions, listening to stories, comparing witness accounts..

_Oh Rhyme, I know people are fallible. I know evidence never lies or forgets. But sometimes you have to look farther. This is one of those times._

The three women reached a room at the far end of the upstairs hall, and Megan Glenn pushed the door open, allowing Samantha and Amelia to step in before her. Sachs recognized the look in Samantha Spade's eyes. It was the same look Lincoln Rhyme got when he was close, when he had almost figured out the puzzle a piece of evidence presented. 

Looking around the spacious room, Samantha was surprised at how barren it felt. There was a double bed and a chest of drawers, but the walls were bare and no personal items adorned the nightstand or mirror. 

"She must have taken a lot to college," Samantha commented off-handily, crossing to the other side of the room and opening the closet door.

"Yeah.." Mrs. Glenn's voice was quiet, hesitant, and Samantha figured a little push wouldn't hurt.

"Mrs. Glenn, anything you tell us will bring us closer to finding Kerry."

Sachs noted the soothing tone the other woman had taken, and watched as Megan Glenn opened one of her daughter's drawers, pulling out a red framed photograph. She showed it to Samantha and Amelia.

The picture was of three smiling teenagers. One girl had a round face full of freckles, wavy dark hair and blue eyes. She had her arm around a beaming Kerry Glenn, who was leaning against a taller boy with sunlit, curly blonde hair and eyes identical to the dark-haired girl's. Samantha was struck by the ease she saw in Kerry Glenn; missing from her eyes was the haunted, anguished look so evident in the snapshot from her dorm. Here, she was full of life, happiness, innocence.

"This is Lisa Gallen," Megan Glenn explained, pointing to the other girl. "She and Kerry were best friends since before they could walk." A shaky smile from the woman, before she continued. "And this is Lisa's brother, Jamie. The three of them were inseparable all through grade school and high school. Jamie is a year older than Kerry and Lisa," Mrs. Glenn continued.

Sachs and Samantha exchanged brief glances, both noting the past tense of the older woman's explanation.

"What happened, Mrs. Glenn?" Samantha's voice was barely a whisper.

"Kerry and Jamie started dating when Kerry was a sophomore in high school. It seemed perfect, you know? They'd known each other for so long, it was almost inevitable. But during Kerry's senior year, she got pregnant."

Revealing this seemed almost a physical blow for Mrs. Glenn, and Sachs and Samantha waited patiently for her to continue.

"At first, Patrick and I were furious. Kerry's so smart, and it was such a surprise. To be honest, I think she considered abortion in the beginning. But as time went on, Kerry and Jamie started getting kind of excited. Jamie transferred to a community college so he could be closer to her." Megan Glenn shook her head. "Patrick barely spoke to Kerry after he found out. Their relationship has never been great, and after that.." She trailed off, tears gathering in her eyes. "Kerry's labor was so hard." The tears began to fall. "She had a baby boy, but he was stillborn."

Samantha's eyes met Amelia's, and she was shocked to see moisture glistening in her steel blue orbs. The red haired woman turned away, and Samantha returned her gaze to Megan Glenn.

"After that..Kerry just shut down. She decided to attend Wellington instead of the community college with Jamie, and she severed all ties with the people here. Whenever we talk, it's always a fight. It's like she was trying to leave everything behind."

_When you move.._

"Mrs. Glenn, do you know where we can find Jamie and Lisa?" Samantha questioned gently.

"Yes, I'll be right back," the woman informed her, slipping out of the room.

"Everything okay?" Samantha asked Amelia Sachs cautiously. She couldn't quite read the other woman.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." She offered Samantha a smile that appeared more than a little forced. "It's not what you're thinking," Amelia assured the agent. 

At that moment, Megan Glenn re-entered the room, holding a piece of white paper.   
"Here's the Gallen's address," she said, handing the paper to Samantha. "They only live a few blocks away."

"Thank you, Mrs. Glenn. For everything," Samantha's voice was earnest, and the older woman nodded.

"One more thing," she said as they left Kerry's bleak bedroom. "I know you probably think Patrick is a terrible father, but he loves Kerry." Megan Glenn seemed as if she was trying to convince herself of that fact. "He refuses to talk about her pregnancy. I think he'd rather pretend it never happened than have to deal with it. Still..he wants what's best for her."

Samantha nodded, patting Mrs. Glenn's shoulder gently, before turning and quietly walking down the stairs with Amelia Sachs.

The two women met Jack outside of the Glenn's house, a bit surprised at the disgusted look on his face.

"Guy's a bastard," Jack spat as they walked toward the vehicle. "Wouldn't tell me a damn thing unless I dragged it out of him. Even then, it was nothing helpful."  
"I guess he didn't tell you Kerry was pregnant and had a stillbirth, huh?" Samantha squinted up at him.

"_What?_" 

As Samantha began filling Jack in on Mrs. Glenn's story, Amelia Sachs's cell phone rang shrilly.

"Hello?"  
"Sachs, it's me. Listen, the footprint you found? Size eleven. We found traces of cement dust in the dirt near the emergency box, at two of the exits _and in the print impression. Mel also got a friction ridge from the CD player. Ran it through AFIS, came back Kerry Glenn. She's in the database for a speeding ticket from a few months ago." There was a touch of irony in Lincoln Rhyme's tone. "We're still waiting for DNA results from the hair tie."_

"Great. Thanks, Rhyme. We'll be back soon."  
"See you then, Sachs."

Amelia Sachs closed her phone, and realized Jack and Samantha were looking expectantly at her.

"Lincoln found traces of cement in the dirt sample taken from the emergency call box," Sachs explained as the three slid into the car. "It matches traces found at two of the exits and in the shoeprint I found. Size eleven, by the way. A fingerprint found on the CD player matches Kerry's. She's in the database; speeding ticket a few months ago."

"Speeding ticket, huh." Samantha smirked.

"Speaking of speeding," Jack began, glancing at Sachs. "Why do you?"

"Because when you move.." Sachs started the engine before continuing. 

"When you move, they can't getcha."

TBC….


	5. Chapter Five

Long Way Down, continued from chapter four.

Author's Note: I can't thank everyone enough for taking the time to review this..you all are incredible. Maple Street, words are simply inadequate. 

The house Amelia Sachs parked in front of was much less expansive than the Glenn's, but appeared, at least from the outside, more welcoming and comfortable.

Samantha rang the bell and the door was answered after a moment by tiny Lisa Gallen. With her round, child-like face, upturned nose and freckles, she looked closer to twelve than eighteen.

"Lisa?" Samantha waited for the girl's slightly hesitant nod of confirmation before continuing. "I'm Agent Samantha Spade, this is Agent Jack Malone and Officer Sachs. We're here about Kerry Glenn."

The look of confusion on Lisa's face only deepened at the mention of Kerry.

"What about her?" Lisa Gallen's tone was wary, bordering on defensive.

Samantha was mildly surprised that Lisa appeared to be unaware of Kerry's disappearance, and Jack fielded the girl's question.

"She went missing last night," he informed Lisa, watching carefully for her reaction. Blue eyes widened involuntarily, lips parted slightly and a bit of color drained from her face.

'Genuine' was Jack's thought, and a single glance at Samantha told him she felt the same.

"Missing.." Lisa repeated, as if she couldn't quite wrap her mind around the heavy word and its vast implications.

"We really need to ask you and your brother some questions," Jack spoke again, insistence mitigated by the soothing undertone of his voice.

Lisa Gallen's jaw set stubbornly, and she seemed about to refuse before relenting, opening the door further and allowing the three inside.

The Gallen's home was warm and soft, and the muted colors only increased the air of comfort emanating from each of the rooms. Lisa led them into a small living room, stopping uncertainly in the middle.

"Um, Jamie's upstairs," she said. "I'll go get him."

"Don't worry about it." Samantha smiled. "Amelia and I will go." 

"Second door on the left." Lisa's voice was quiet, distant. 

A three-way glance between the agents and the red haired officer, and Samantha and Amelia left Jack with the wary Lisa Gallen.

The two stood for a moment before Lisa sat and Jack followed suit.

"I haven't seen Kerry for months," she informed him, idly twirling a slender bracelet on her wrist.

"Mrs. Glenn told us you and Kerry were extremely close," Jack began, choosing his words carefully. "What happened?"

"She left," Lisa answered, a touch of bitterness entering her voice. "Do..do you know?" She peered closely at Jack, who nodded without asking for confirmation.

"It was..God, it was the most horrible experience ever. Especially for Kerry and Jamie, but we were all devastated. My parents and Mrs. Glenn, too." She shook her head, eyes gazing at a point past Jack, focusing on something beyond his sight. "After..well, after that, there was no way to reach Kerry. We wanted to be there for her, you know? Jamie most of all. He was the only one who could come anywhere close to understanding how she felt. But.." Lisa blinked furiously, holding back the moisture that threatened to overflow. "But she was gone. She wouldn't return phone calls, she wouldn't see anyone, she never left her house. In August we found out she'd transferred to Wellington for college." Lisa stopped for a moment, her eyes and mouth hardening.

"I haven't seen Kerry since June, Agent Malone, and I don't want to see her. I can understand her wanting to leave the past behind, to move on and forget. But I will never forgive her for what she did to him. Jamie..he's broken. He doesn't know what to do without her."

Jack was silent as the fury and anguish emanating from the girl sitting across from him exploded in a fit of racking sobs. 

"I miss her and I miss him." Lisa whispered so softly that Jack had to strain to hear. "I lost them both."

Samantha and Amelia Sachs climbed the stairs quietly, approaching the closed white door together. Samantha knocked softly, and a muted "Come in" sounded from inside the room. She pushed it open, a look of confusion crossing Jamie Gallen's face as he took in the two unfamiliar women standing in his doorway.

"Who are you?" His wary tone perfectly matched his sister's.

"I'm Agent Spade, and this is Officer Sachs. We're here to ask you some questions about Kerry Glenn."

Jamie winced at the name, a look of pain replaced immediately by one of unaffected nonchalance.

"What about her?"

In response, Samantha sat on a wooden desk chair as Amelia walked slowly around the room.

"Kerry disappeared last night," Samantha informed him, watching his reaction closely. He ran a hand through curly blonde hair and his blue eyes followed Amelia Sachs's quiet trek around his living space, looking anywhere but directly at Samantha.

"I don't know anything about that," he finally responded.

"No one said you did," Samantha replied mildly.

"You're here. You must think I know something."

It was raw pain disguised as anger, and Samantha couldn't help the twinge of sympathy that lit inside of her.

"We're not accusing you of anything," she assured gently, even as Amelia Sachs used a pen to open his closet door further, glancing inside. Steel blue eyes met brown, and Amelia gave her an almost imperceptible shrug as she continued her exploration.

"It's just important that we learn everything we can about Kerry."

Jamie nodded, eyes still guarded, but his defensive posture had somewhat relaxed, and so Samantha continued.

"When's the last time you saw Kerry?"

"Last June." His voice was rough, strained. "A few days after.." Jamie trailed off and Samantha nodded, confirming her knowledge of the event he so desperately did not want to voice.

"It's okay." Her gentle whisper seemed to strengthen him, and he continued.

"I was going to take her home from the hospital, but when I got there she was already getting into her parents' car. She saw me. She saw me and she just looked away, and I haven't seen her since."

"Have you spoken to her?"

A humorless laugh from Jamie Gallen was the response to Samantha's query.

"I've tried. Called her three, four times a day for the first few weeks, but she wouldn't talk to me, or to Lisa. She wouldn't see us, either. After awhile..it just hurt less to stop trying."

"According to Mrs. Glenn, the three of you were very close. Do you have any idea why Kerry refused to see or speak to you?"

Jamie gave a hollow shrug.

"She was in so much pain. I've never seen agony like that, Agent Spade. I guess..I guess we were constant reminders of what she lost. It was horrible for all of us, but Kerry..Kerry was tortured. I loved her, you know? I still do. There's just this emptiness now, where she used to be. Hell, I don't even know how to talk to Lisa anymore."

Samantha noted no bitterness in Jamie Gallen's voice, only a haunted, tired resignment echoed by the drawn, weary expression on his face.

"Can you think of anyone that may have wanted to hurt Kerry for any reason?"

Jamie shook his head.

"No. As far as I know, everyone likes Kerry."

"Where were you last night, Jamie?" Samantha asked the question carefully.

A hint of resentment crept into his eyes, and his voice dropped a notch. "I was here. So was Lisa."

"What size shoe do you wear?" Amelia Sachs spoke for the first time since they'd arrived at the Gallen's.

Jamie stared at her incredulously before answering. "Ten."

"Ah. Okay. What about your father?" 

Samantha eyed the other woman warily, but Sachs's gaze was leveled on Jamie, who shrugged.

"I don't know. Eleven, I think. Why?"

"Could you show them to me?"

Jamie turned to Samantha almost pleadingly. 

"_Why_?"

"We need to see them so we can completely rule you out as a suspect, Jamie. It's standard procedure." Samantha's voice was smooth and assuring even as she cast a questioning glance at the collected Amelia Sachs, who merely gazed calmly back at her.

Jamie's face was still a mask of confusion, but he obliged, leading the two women from his bedroom and into another across the hall. 

Amelia pulled a slender camera from inside her jacket and, with quiet efficiency, snapped a picture of each pair of shoes and collected samples from the soles, making notes every so often. She was finished in a matter of minutes, and stood, smiling at Jamie and Samantha.

"Thanks."

A troubled-looking Jamie Gallen nodded. "Are we finished?"

"We're finished. Thank you, Jamie."

Another nod, and he spoke quietly. "I'll probably never see her again, but..please find Kerry. She's been through so much already.."

Samantha patted his arm, offering a soft smile and silent reassurance as she and Amelia made their way down the stairs, where Jack had just finished questioning Lisa Gallen. The three were quiet until the Gallen's front door closed behind them and Samantha turned to Amelia Sachs. Before she could speak, the red haired officer began to explain.

"I know Jamie wasn't originally a suspect, but the Under Armor we found at the scene? He's got three shirts like it in his closet. None of them are ripped, but that was basis enough for the dirt samples. The print near the call box was size eleven; he could easily have worn a pair of his father's shoes. We'll have to compare the samples from those shoes with the samples collected at the college."

By this time, Amelia Sachs was behind the wheel and they were headed back to Lincoln Rhyme's.

"I don't know." Samantha twisted in her seat, directing her thoughts to both Jack and Amelia. "I just don't see Jamie as the violent type. He still loves Kerry; it's obvious."

"Lisa Gallen said they were both home last night," Jack offered. "Still; love makes people do strange things."

"Maybe." Samantha had to agree with that, and they fell into a contemplative silence.

Jack and Samantha were at Lincoln Rhyme's long enough to hear the man first grumble that the DNA results from the hair tie still hadn't come back, and then brighten considerably when Amelia Sachs presented him with dirt samples from the Gallen's. 

"I love dirt," Lincoln Rhyme proclaimed to the room in general. "It's great for comparison, it traps trace, it can place a perp directly at a scene.."

Samantha and Jack exchanged glances as a bemused Sachs began loading the samples in the chromatograph.

"Samantha and I are going to visit Marabella's," Jack informed Lincoln and Amelia. "See if the people Kerry works with can shed any more light on her life."

"Good, good." Lincoln Rhyme was buried in a microscope, his voice distant, preoccupied.

With a wave to Amelia, the agents departed.

"These kids have been through a lot," Samantha said as she guided the vehicle one-handed down a winding, deserted road.

Jack nodded his agreement. "They've lost more than a child," was his quiet reply. "Patrick Glenn gave me a list of his recent cases, but I really don't think this had anything to do with him."

"Probably not," Samantha acquiesced.

They fell into silence, and Samantha was acutely aware of Jack's eyes on her, studying her, holding her in his steady, unwavering gaze. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

"If you keep looking at me like that, we're going to get into an accident," she commented, working to keep her voice light, mild.

She didn't have to take her eyes off the road to know the expression he would be wearing, but she did anyway, a slight shiver shooting down her spine as she took in his easy smirk and challenging dark eyes.

"What else should I look at?" His tone was teasing, but present also was the low, seductive lilt that she felt rather than heard.

"I don't know. Look at the cows." She couldn't keep the grin off her own face as he settled back in his seat.

"They're not as pretty as you," he grumbled, in as close to a pout as Samantha would ever hear from Jack Malone.

She shot him a brief but genuine smile, one that he returned before shifting slightly so his fingers brushed over her hand that rested on the seat in between them.

They were warm and comforting, and for a single, perfect moment, she allowed herself to pretend that the world was as beautiful as the intoxicating connection that flowed so strongly between them.

TBC…


	6. Chapter Six

Long Way Down, continued from chapter five.

Author's Note: Maple Street rocks harder than any other forum could ever hope to. Thank you to everyone for the feedback…it means more than you know :wub:.

As soon as Amelia finished loading the dirt samples under the watchful eye of Lincoln Rhyme, the comfortable silence shared by the criminalist, red-haired officer and aide was shattered by the shrill insistence of the telephone.

"Answer phone," Lincoln Rhyme commanded, speaking into the computer in front of him. A whirring noise as the equipment sprung to life, a scattering of rapid images across the screen, and the words "Phone Mode" blinked three times, all in a matter of less than a second.

"Hello?" Even to his own ears, Rhyme's tone sounded brusque and impatient. 

"Mr. Rhyme?" The man sounded both polite and intimidated, and Rhyme bit back a caustic response, settling instead for a simple "yes".

"Oh…oh, okay." 

Rhyme and Sachs shared a brief glance, her eyebrows rising in faint amusement as Lincoln rolled his dark eyes to the ceiling. The surprised, youthful voice on the other end was clearly unsure of how a quadriplegic had managed to pick up the telephone. 

"Um, this is Chris Gardner, from the lab. Your DNA results are in."

There was a moment of uncertain silence, and finally Rhyme gave in, prompting "Well?"

"The DNA from the hair tie found at the scene matches the DNA collected from Kerry Glenn's hairbrush."

"Excellent. Thank you, Mr. Gardner." The rather cordial dismissal was followed by a "close phone mode" command, and Lincoln Rhyme turned back to Amelia and Thom.

"Now that we know it's hers; how did the tie get there? Did the perp pull it out of her hair?" Lincoln's questions were rhetorical, his face creased in concentration as his mind traveled where his body couldn't; back to the scene, to that night, examining various scenarios, all from the confinement of his wheelchair.

"I don't know," Amelia objected thoughtfully. "What would the purpose of that be? If anything, it would be easier for him if she kept it back."

From the other side of the room, Thom nodded his agreement. "Less likely to get caught on something if it's tied back," he commented.

"Ah, that's very observant, Thom." Lincoln leaned his head back. "Still leaves us questioning, though."

Amelia Sachs bit her lip. "Maybe Kerry put it there," she remarked quietly.

Rhyme raised an eyebrow, prompting the officer to continue.

"I don't mean she took her own hair out." Sachs lifted her right wrist, exposing a thick white hair band. "I always have an extra, just in case. Maybe..maybe Kerry did too. Maybe she dropped it on purpose; a desperate attempt to catch our attention." Amelia shrugged, but Lincoln could see the quiet, haunted look that sometimes crept into her blue eyes, the one that meant only part of her was here in this room; the rest of Amelia Sachs was traveling the scene again, this time as the victim instead of the perpetrator. She would be imagining a terrified Kerry Glenn thinking clearly long enough to leave a piece of herself behind, and this intriguing facet of the victim would hit quick-thinking, quick-moving Amelia Sachs the hardest.

It was at such times that Rhyme needed to pull her back slowly. He was aided by the beeping of the chromatograph, and their eyes met across the large black machine. No words were needed; the simple lifting of his eyebrow and quirk of his lips were answered by the darkening of her eyes and the slight nod of her head, and his Sachs was back.

Marabella's was located only ten minutes from Wellington College, Jack noted as Samantha swung the vehicle into a parking space outside the brick building. It was quaint-looking, with a single, large glass window displaying the name in white letters. 

The agents stepped from the car, and made their way across the sunlit parking lot. Entering the darkened restaurant, Jack was mildly surprised to note how empty it was, until a glance at his watch told him it was only 11:00. Samantha looked at hers as well, muttering a tense "twelve hours" as the two approached the front counter.

"Smoking or non-smoking?"

The girl standing in front of Jack and Samantha regarded them with an air of slight curiosity, and her voice held a note of distraction. She wore a short green dress, white apron, a name tag bearing "Carley" in simple black type, and Samantha was abruptly reminded of her own college years; long hours in an itchy, uncomfortable uniform, under tipped and working for minimum wage. This girl, though, who at first glance appeared to be around Kerry Glenn's age, didn't seem particularly unhappy, only distant and preoccupied.

"I'm Agent Malone, and this is Agent Spade of the FBI. We're here to ask your manager a few questions."

A kind of fearful comprehension dawned in Carley's light brown eyes, and she flicked a glance to the back of the restaurant before returning her gaze to the agents.

"Sure, hold on." 

The slender brunette waved another woman over to the counter, and the two spoke briefly before Carley motioned Jack and Samantha through a swinging wooden door.

They were immediately assaulted by the heavy smell of cooking food, and memories jolted Samantha once again. The simple warmth of Jack's light touch on her back, however, was enough to shake her from past to present.

Inside the kitchen, a short, balding man looked up from the stove, concern clouding his benign features.

"What's going on, Nawa?"

A quick exchange of raised eyebrows between the agents, before they realized the man was addressing Carley.

"Last names again?" Jack muttered, his voice low in Samantha's ear. She choked back the grin that threatened to spread across her face, biting her lip and elbowing Jack lightly before taking a step forward.

"Mr. Marabella?"  
The man nodded, flicking a switch on the large oven and wiping his hands on his apron.

"I'm Agent Spade, this is Agent Malone. We need to speak to you about Kerry Glenn."  
"I knew it. Do you have any news?"  
The quick, desperate question was fired by Carley Nawa, and it hurt Samantha to shake her head and watch the hope dissolve in the other woman's eyes.

"Do you know Kerry well?" Samantha inquired gently.

"Yeah, really well. We work together all the time."

As they had begun to do more and more, Jack and Samantha communicated without words, opting instead for a slight raise of the eyebrow and a subtle nod.

"Why don't you come out here with me?" Samantha led Carley back into the dimly lit dining area of Marabella's, and they slid into a booth across from each other.

"Kerry was supposed to open with me this morning," Carley informed Samantha, toying with a plastic salt dispenser. "She didn't show up, so I called her room and talked to Erin, her roommate. She told me..she told me that Kerry went missing last night." Carley finally looked up, her jaw set stubbornly, but Samantha could see moisture gathering between her lashes.

"It's crazy, you know? It's Kerry. How can she be missing?" A shake of her dark head, and Carley gazed over Samantha's shoulder before meeting her eyes again.

"I met Kerry when she started working here, a few months ago. I trained her." Carley offered a small grin, which Samantha returned, encouraging the other woman to continue. "We just clicked, I guess. She's a good friend. Last month, she told me..you know, about Jamie, and the baby."   
Samantha nodded, assuring Carley that she did indeed know, and the brunette continued. "God, that's so shitty. I remember sometimes she'd look kind of distant, and I never knew why, until then. Anyway..I don't know if I'll be any help to you. Kerry and I are close, but I don't go to Wellington. I just..it helps to talk."

Smiling her gentle understanding, Samantha spoke. "Did Kerry ever mention any enemies? Anyone she was afraid of, or worried about?"

Carley thought for a second before slowly shaking her head. "No, I don't think so. Kerry's really likeable. Although.." Carley trailed off, rubbing her forehead as though she was trying to work a thought to the surface. "One morning she came in kind of shaken up. It was about a month ago, I think. 'I made a huge mistake'. She kept repeating that, but she wouldn't tell anyone what happened. Eventually she calmed down, and we all kind of let it go."

"And you don't have any idea what she was referring to?" Samantha's voice was calm, but her mind was racing; this huge mistake, whatever it was, could be the map to lead them to Kerry Glenn.

"I'm sorry." Carley shook her head apologetically. 

"It's okay. Is there anything else you can tell me about Kerry? Did she ever mention any professors, or coaches, that you think may have been involved?"

A shrug from Carley Nawa. "Nope. As far as I know, Kerry doesn't play any sports; she just runs because she likes it, going fast."

_When you move…_

"She's never mentioned any specific professors, either."

"Okay. I think that's about it; thank you, Carley."

The girl nodded somberly, wishing Samantha luck with the investigation, her eyes and voice betraying the anxiety she was working so hard to conceal. 

_A huge mistake…_

"When did Kerry Glenn start working here?" Jack glanced around the small but efficient kitchen before returning his steady gaze to the smaller man in front of him.

Joe Marabella scratched his forehead, and a moment passed before he responded.

"Mid-August, I think. It's a pretty popular place for college kids to work; the hours aren't bad, and it's only a ten, fifteen minute drive from about four colleges in this area."

"What's she like?"  
Joe leaned back against the counter. "Kerry's a good kid. She was pretty quiet when she first started, but she opened up. That was Nawa's influence, I think. Those two got close fast."

"Right." Jack penned a few notes, discreetly studying Joe Marabella. Easy-going, friendly..probably made a decent boss, Jack decided.

"When did you last see Kerry?"

"Let's see…" Joe's face creased in thought. "She didn't work yesterday, so the day before that, I think."

"How did she seem?"

The other man shrugged in response to Jack's query. "Like she always did. Good-natured, hard-working. I didn't notice anything off about her."

"Okay." Jack's tone was resigned, reluctant, but years as an agent had taught him when there was simply nothing more to be learned. "Let me know if you think of anything else." He handed Joe Marabella his card, and walked through the wooden door. He fell into step beside Samantha, who was just closing her phone.

"That was Amelia," she informed him as the two left the dim restaurant behind in favor of the bright parking lot. "She and Lincoln are heading to the school to go over the scene again. Amelia doesn't think there'll be anything left, but Lincoln wants to…what'd she say? 'Walk the grid'. Or roll the grid; I think those were his words, actually."

Jack smirked. "Sounds like Lincoln."

"It does," Samantha agreed with a smile, turning the car on. "Oh, the DNA from the hair tie is Kerry's. Amelia thinks she dropped it on purpose."  
 "Smart move," Jack commented.

"I think we should go back," Samantha remarked, pulling out of the lot. "Remember those video cameras in the security office? I'm sure we'd have been told if they caught anything, but I'd like to look them over anyway. Maybe we'll see something the officers dismissed as insignificant."

"At this point, I'm up for anything," Jack agreed. "Joe Marabella wasn't any help."

"Carley knew," was Samantha's response. "She said that Kerry mentioned a 'huge mistake' a month or so ago, but she never found out what it was. We know her, but we're missing something here, Jack."

Jack let out a long breath before nodding. "I don't know how much deeper we can dig, Sam."

"As deep as we have to." Samantha's quiet, insistent words settled over the agents.

She was right, Jack knew. They'd go as deep as they needed.

TBC…


	7. Chapter Seven

Long Way Down, Final (Continued from chapter six)

Author's Note: Thank you so, so much to everyone who stuck with me…Maple Street, you have been absolutely incredible—the feedback and encouragement mean more than I could ever say. 

Wellington's campus was eerily still, deserted and silent without even the slightest breeze to alleviate the emptiness with a stirring or scattering of leaves. Amelia Sachs glanced around for a moment before returning her attention to Lincoln Rhyme and the scene before them.

"You and me, Sachs," he murmured, before they began.

The scene was the same as she remembered, a gleaming silver box banked by a line of trees on both sides. Rhyme remained silent, quick eyes taking in every inch, every dimension.

They moved slowly around the box, and Amelia could sense Rhyme's frustration even before he spoke.

"He's an _amateur_, Sachs." Rhyme's voice was harsh. "There's got to be something."

Further examination gleaned nothing, however, and Rhyme and Sachs were forced to continue down the path Amelia had searched that same morning.

When they reached the branch Sachs had broken to retrieve the piece of Under Armor, Rhyme braked to an abrupt halt.

"_Damn_," he spat, but his dark eyes were alighted.

"Agent Spade said the Under Armor probably came from the upper back," Lincoln explained. "If she's right, we can make a guess about height, based on the height of the branch. It won't be completely accurate-" and Lincoln Rhyme looked severely irritated about this fact - "but it'll be close."

Without any instruction, Sachs stepped between the criminalist and the tree, twisting her body so that the branch was aimed at her back.

Tall, willowy Amelia stood at five feet, eleven inches, and the broken branch was directed at her mid-back.

Rhyme's eyes took her in and then slid closed, measuring, figuring, imagining, until an answer worked its way to the surface.

"Five feet, six inches." Lincoln nodded firmly. "_Approximately_, of course."

"Of course," Amelia agreed.

They continued on, silence only deepening with the path. The feeling of solitude that had overwhelmed Amelia Sachs at the scene earlier that day was mitigated by Rhyme's strong presence at her side, yet she couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine when she glanced over her shoulder at the line of trees that appeared to be steadily closing them in.

Upon reaching the metal gate separating the path from a small back road, the pair stopped.

"I dusted for prints and examined the latch for trace," Sachs told Rhyme before shaking her head. "The gate is here for cars, not people, and there was no evidence of a vehicle on the path. The perp probably didn't bother with it; it's easy enough to slip through on the side. Less time consuming, too."

A disgruntled Lincoln Rhyme nodded his reluctant assent. "It's a good point, Sachs." His voice was subdued but, as Amelia had learned, when it came to crime scenes he never stayed that way for long.

"Let's head to the southern entrance, E-3. Found traces of cement dust there, too; maybe we can make a connection."

They walked in contemplative quiet for a moment, before Sachs, compulsively scratching at her red waves, spoke.

"Samantha said she and Jack are going to take a look at the surveillance tapes in the security office. Wouldn't hurt to let them know that the perp is probably around five six."

"It'll hurt if they decide to focus on height only. Particularly a height that we're not _certain_ about," Lincoln Rhyme grumbled. 

"C'mon, Rhyme. They're not so bad."

Rhyme arched an eyebrow at Sachs's assessment before nodding his head in grudging agreement.

"The office should be coming up..here."

Lincoln was quietly pleased to note that the security base was equipped with a wheelchair ramp, though he chose not to voice the sentiment. With Amelia at his side, the two stepped through the main doors and found themselves in a large lobby, being scrutinized by a middle-aged, dark-haired woman peering over a smooth wooden desk.

"Can I help you?" 

Sachs noted that the woman's voice held only mild curiosity, and she therefore didn't need to be subjected to the ever impatient, acerbic Rhyme, so Amelia fielded the question herself.

"I'm Officer Sachs, and this is Lincoln Rhyme. We're here investigating Kerry Glenn's disappearance, and we'll need to see the main security office."

The woman nodded. "Right. The FBI is here, too," she said off-handily, leading them down a small hallway to a closed wooden door.

Nathan Miller looked mildly surprised to see Jack and Samantha standing in the doorway of the security mainframe, but he greeted them warmly.

"Welcome back, Agent Malone, Agent Spade. How's the investigation going?"

Neither Jack nor Samantha knew how to answer that question, so both ignored it.

"Security tapes from last night, Mr. Miller; we'll need to see those," Jack requested.

The slim man nodded. "Of course. I don't know how much help they'll be, though; they tape only the main entrance and exit."

Samantha, who had been quietly examining the gray dust gathering on her black shoes, looked up sharply. Her eyes went to Jack, then immediately flew to Nathan Miller, focusing not on his face but on the tiny, white "UA" peeking out from underneath the collar of his dark uniform, and then on the faint gray dust that covered his own black shoes.

_Cement dust found at the scene…_

_We talked a few times..._

"How do you know those entrances won't be helpful, Mr. Miller?"

The room fell still. Before either Samantha or Jack could make a move, the door to the security office swung open, and Amelia Sachs stepped inside.

"NO!" Samantha barely realized that the desperate word had come from her when Nathan Miller seized Amelia, brandishing a gleaming silver knife he'd drawn from his pocket. In the doorway sat Lincoln Rhyme, unable to move or breathe, watching his Sachs immobilized not by a crushed vertebra but by the unnaturally strong, slender arms of this frantic, furious security officer.

A security officer who looked to stand approximately five feet, six inches.

_When you move..._

Even strong Amelia Sachs was no match for wiry Nathan Miller. The harder she struggled, the tighter he held her, the closer he pushed the blade of the knife to her neck.

By this time, Jack and Samantha had drawn their weapons, aiming them at the guard, but it was no use; he used Sachs as a shield and her tall frame almost completely blockaded him from view.

"You don't want to do that, Nathan," Jack spoke without moving his gun, his gaze trained on the young man.

"Why the hell not?" Nathan Miller's voice was steady even as he adjusted his grip across the red-haired woman.

"Because this has nothing to do with Amelia." 

Lincoln Rhyme looked back and forth between the agents and Amelia Sachs, frustratingly unable to bleed the tension that gathered inside of him, unable to experience his rapidly increasing heart rate or feel the sickening weight he knew was gathering in the pit of his stomach. He settled, then, for meeting and holding Sachs's gaze, and amidst the anxious fear in her steel eyes he also saw a flash of understanding. Fast and fierce, moving and driving, the woman who lived for motion was now utterly incapable of it, and she'd never come closer to knowing what he knew.

For that alone, for forcing her to experience the world he weathered, Rhyme would have found a way to aim at Nathan Miller and pull the trigger, had the gun been in his own hands. 

_You and me, Sachs…_

"It has nothing to do with her," Samantha repeated, willing her voice to remain calm. She had no idea if the man was even listening. Swallowing hard, she spoke again. "This is about Kerry Glenn, Nathan."

"Stop it! You don't know anything about her," the guard raged, pulling Amelia Sachs more firmly to him. "_I know her. She told me everything. She trusts me."_

_A huge mistake…_

"Where is she, Nathan?" Jack tightened the grip on his weapon just as Nathan Miller tightened his hold on the red-haired officer.

"She's safe," he snapped. "She's safe and she's happy. She wasn't happy here. She was lonely and scared. When we talked…she was happy. She wants to be a mother, you know. I bet you didn't know that. I'm going to help her."  
Oh no. No…

The first image she'd ever seen of Kerry Glenn flashed in Samantha's mind, and her heart quietly broke for the young woman whose innocence had been stolen too many times. Then…

Samantha looked intently at Amelia Sachs, offering a silent apology before speaking.

"Amelia wants to be a mother, too," Samantha told Nathan Miller, keeping her tone light, conversational. "She's a lot like Kerry."  
Jack's gaze had flicked from Nathan to Samantha, but she kept hers trained on the young guard who now appeared to be listening intently.

"They both like to move fast. That's how you met Kerry, right? She was running? They both like to move and they both want to be mothers."  
By now, a force of security guards and uniformed officers had gathered just outside the door, but Jack shook his head and they stayed, waiting for a signal.

"We know you wouldn't hurt Kerry, Nathan. We just need to find her, that's all."

"She trusts me. She loves me…" was Nathan's whispered response.

"Of course." Samantha's voice was soft, assuring. "Come on, Nathan. I know you don't want to hurt Amelia anymore than you want to hurt Kerry." She held her breath as Nathan Miller seemed to tighten his hold on Sachs before his grip fell slack and he released the red-haired woman.

She practically fell onto Lincoln Rhyme, burying her head in his shoulder as Jack and Samantha held onto Nathan long enough for a uniformed officer to handcuff the slender man.

Amelia Sachs gripped Lincoln's shoulder, his neck, his shirt…anything she could grab hold of, as a shudder passed through her. A small drop of blood fell from her neck to his chest, and he leaned his head against hers, the only comforting gesture he could perform.

_Oh Rhyme…_

Incapable of motion only a few seconds earlier, Sachs was now just as incapable of speech, but as Jack and Samantha moved to follow Nathan Miller and the officers out of the small security room, she stood, uncertain for a second before wrapping Samantha in a grateful hug.

"Thank you…"

Samantha smiled through the tears that had gathered in her dark eyes, grasping Amelia's shoulder and nodding.

"Yes, uh-" Rhyme cleared his throat, directing his words to the agents. "Thank you both."

Samantha and Jack exchanged a quick smile.

"Anytime, Lincoln. Thanks for all your help," Jack nodded to the other man, who replied with a quirk of his lips.

"Let's go get her, Jack."  
With that, the agents stepped from the office.

Alone for the moment, Sachs again dropped to Lincoln Rhyme's chair, hugging him hard.

"Love you," she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. He responded by brushing his lips against her forehead and telling her he loved her, too.

A beat of silence, then Sachs broke into a shaky grin.

"Told you they weren't so bad."

Per information Nathan Miller had reluctantly disclosed, Jack and Samantha found Kerry Glenn locked in a small room in his basement. She was bound at the wrists and ankles, and a loose rope tied around her torso kept her against the filthy wall. She sat on an old mattress, tape covering her mouth, wearing the clothes Erin Spencer had described; green shorts and a white t-shirt. As they had from the start, Kerry Glenn's eyes grabbed Samantha's attention first. Dull and listless when the agents entered the room, they gleamed with a sparkling hope as she slowly realized who they were.

Kerry nearly fell into Jack's arms when she was untied, her legs shaking from their constriction. It was over an hour before the girl found her voice, and even then the agents questioned carefully.

Her account matched Nathan Miller's almost perfectly, Samantha noted. She'd been running, and, in a rather jumpy mood, pressed the emergency call button. Nothing specific had triggered her edginess, Kerry recalled. She'd spoken to Nathan over the intercom, and he promised to send someone to walk her to her dorm. Ten minutes later…Kerry shook her head as tears gathered in her eyes. Ten minutes later, she'd been accosted by the same man who assured her protection, who she thought of as a friend, who had never offered anything but quiet comfort. 

_I told him because I thought I could trust him and because I wanted to. Because I needed to._

Dragged down a dark path, locked in the trunk of his car for over forty-five minutes until his shift ended, and when they had reached his house…

The tears overflowed, sobs escaping Kerry Glenn's thin body in large, heaving gasps. Her hands were balled into fists and she pressed them to her face as Samantha stroked her hair gently. 

_He kept telling me he loved me, that he was helping me. Oh God…_

They had all they needed, and neither agent was willing to push the terrified, fragile young woman any further. Leaving her in the care of Carley Nawa and Erin Spencer, who had arrived first at the NYPD office, Jack and Samantha retreated to their vehicle.

Sitting quietly in the lot, Jack watched Samantha in concern. Pale and shaking slightly, she sat with her hands clenched in fists identical to Kerry Glenn's.

He had no words of comfort to offer, no adage to take away the crushing pain breaking over her.

"Sam…" her name caught in his throat as she turned devastated dark eyes to meet his. She bit her lip, a final line of defense before the tears spilled over, soaking her cheeks and shirt.

"Oh God, Jack, I don't know if I can take this." It was a quiet admission, but Samantha's face held only raw honesty as she gazed up at him.

They were in full view of the NYPD office, but somehow that barely registered in Jack's mind as he touched Samantha's shoulder, pulling her into a gentle embrace. She buried her head in his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her back, offering silent comfort; the only kind that would soothe away pain this deep. 

"It's okay. It'll be okay, Sam." He murmured the words repeatedly against her soft blonde hair, and eventually he heard her sobs quiet, felt her tense body relax against him as she nodded into his chest.

_It's a long way down, but it'll be okay._

[end]


End file.
